Upton Street neighbors exhibit unfortunate behavior

The Pine Street Inn has proposed turning three buildings on Upton Street into “transitional housing” for previously-homeless men and women.

According to the South End News:

The plan as of now would have 36 residents and one live-in case manager housed in the three-row homes. The buildings, which would require some renovation, would be split into 12 units in each, sharing a common room and kitchen. A live-in case manager would have a studio apartment in one of the buildings.

The buildings are currently used by Hope House to treat men in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

The nonprofit has been on the street for more than 25 years, housing up to 70 men at a time. The men stay in the facility for about six weeks at a stretch, during which time their activities are closely monitored and they are supported through the process of getting sober.

In the opinions of the neighbors, the area just isn’t suitable for such transitional housing, any longer.

It is certainly true that the South End has moved from being predominantly poor to one made up of poor and upper-middle-class people. At one point, I believe the South End had more SRO’s (single-room-occupancy) units than any other neighborhood in America.

We are no longer being inundated with this type of housing. This means, to me, that complaints that this is all “too much” are hard to believe.

We all care about who our neighbors are. Of course. You can only fault the neighbors to a point. The street would be better off with all residential housing. Owners treat their properties better than renters, etc., etc., etc.

We cannot let the desires of a few take precedence over what is best for our community.

Source: Nightmare on Upton Street – By Linda Rodriguez, South End News